Now in its 85th year, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is watched by more than 3 million people and an additional 50 million or so on television. In an era when moral clauses are a part of many major sponsorship contracts and negative headlines can be circulated instantly and repeated to ad infinitum, the iconic New York parade offers a rare combination of both high reach and low risk for family-oriented brands.

In addition to the exposure they receive in the parade, many partners activate with a charitable component tied to their participation. For instance, Aflac and Macy’s announced last month a major partnership that will not only add a 35-foot-tall duck balloon to the parade, but also sell Aflac’s holiday duck plush toy to nearly 700 Macy’s stores nationwide with proceeds benefiting childhood cancer research.